When a person turns to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, he is saved. Jesus becomes his Lord and Savior and he is from that time forward forever in Christ. He becomes a part of the people of God, the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit. He becomes a new creation.
At the moment of salvation, the Christian also becomes part of the church. After all, the church is simply the one Christ-centered community - the assembly of all believers of all time.
This means that church membership (if that's what you want to call it) is instantaneous. It happens at the same time that salvation does. This is church membership according to scripture.
Any other form of church membership - like the types so often emphasized by local churches today - are little more than artificial man-made dividers that say "who is in and who is out." These have no biblical basis.
So let's all rejoice that when a person comes to Christ he also comes to the church. These happen at the same time. May we recognize this and glorify God for it.
6 comments:
Yes! Right on!
Praise the Lord :-)
Eric,
You must have been studying the Scriptures instead of denominational traditions!
You must also recognize the freedom from the bondage which comes with those traditions.
I thank God for answered prayers!
Norma and John,
It sure is refreshing to let the scriptures speak! No more artificial divisions for me.
The supernatural power of God's design of "members of one another" Rom. 12 is almost completely lost when replaced by institutionalized membership. No wonder the saints line up in pews for one way communication - the exact opposite of the designed function of "members of one another" where each believer has a contribution to make in order for Christ's body to be built. I need to do a lot more meditating on the power of "members of one another" because I'm still not up to speed.
Eric,
I couldn't agree more. Every single mention - without exception - of "member" or "membership" in the NT indicates that we are already members of the church. Not once does anybody "become" a member of a church.
Steve,
Right on target.
All church membership does these days is divide Christians.
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